Monday, January 18, 2010

Iowa and Back

This blog post is seriously lacking! We took no pictures of my beautiful sister-in-law Sunny, only a couple of Jeremy (he was holding Trey), took no pictures of our friends in Oklahoma and Kansas, etc. Is THIS what happens with more than two children, or am I just the biggest slacker EVER? Don't answer, please.

Christmas in Iowa was wonderful. It was full of family who were accommodating, fun, generous, encouraging, helpful.... They helped us with our child training, giving plenty of opportunities to coach our kids; they fed us till we could barely move (Trey ate like a horse); they introduced us to a bunch of great church family, allowing our personal love for His family to reach even Iowa; and we had a lot of nice, low-key time to relax as a family. Thank you!


We stopped at many a park on our way to Iowa for meals and breaks. The two toys the boys are playing with were sweet gifts from the Byers, left under the tree in the room they slept in while we passed through Wichita. They were wonderful distractions on the drive and during stops.




Arriving in Iowa, we were in for a super treat! The snow! The kids played in it every morning. Natasha and Justus were great to share that snow time after chores, as well as all their belongings and space for the week we were there.



Yikes. What was Toby doing with that? He looks a little dangerous.



Scott was delighted with the cold. He shoveled the driveway daily for fun. Ranne was a big helper.



Toby is giving this snowman a good hug. The arms were very long, though it's hard to see in these pictures.




The gang:





Jeremy's general expression. The kids warmed right up to him.




Dress-up was a good time had by the kids.



Trey appreciating prunes, which are very important after so many car seat hours.

The kids have always appreciated Elaine's attention (Jeremy's mother). She's very good company on our visits.

I can't say we were just ecstatic on Christmas morning over the stockings. Too many late nights. BUT, it was fun. I'm always impressed with other's creative stocking ideas.




And, home again. Nice to be clean and bathed! These are some of my favorite PJ's that the boys have worn. Banana jamas


The boys' latest favorite perch in the yard. They get to watch the cats in the vacant lot next door. We are currently trying to trap those cats to get them out of our yard. There is one, in fact, in the trap now with it's mama sitting outside of it. NOW I'm feeling bad.


Back to baking. My sister-in-law, Sarah, gave me the recipe for a wonderful and easy pie: Cranberry Apple. Thank you, thank you!



What happens when two boys can't seem to control themselves from pushing one another's buttons? It works, for now at least.


What does Trey do when we're busy working on the house? Crawls straight to his ADD-Saucer and eats the cracker crumbs in the bottom.


Scott's wonderful work on our kitchen! The closet/pantry is getting closer to completion!



Big helpers:




4 Responses:

Sydni said...

Oh, wow! Thank you so much for doing these posts!! I feel a bit exhausted for you just from going through the pictures. :) Maybe I can stay away from Facebook now that you posted again... got my fix.

Let us know as soon as Trey starts walking so we can see if Hayven is crawling by that time. Hahah.

JeremyNSunny said...

Ffffffun, Amanda!! I'm surprised at the pictures you got! Many are quite good, and it's a good 'slice' of our week together, which was sssso greatly enjoyed by all!

A PANTRY!! How exciting!! I found that very funny about the baby cat trapped (still giggling), and that pie looks beautiful! Great going!

BANANAJAMMAS!! Aaaaawesome! :)

DadJohnson said...

Wow, such fun in the snow...and LOTS of it. So glad the Lord watched over you guys on that trip of sliding splendor.
I could use some of your pie too!

The Free Tree said...

Sunny, did you really just correct my spelling on "Bananajammas"? JK.

Dad, come see me and I'll make a pie for you with the last of my cranberries. You'll have some competition with the boys around here, though.

Syndi: he crawls so well, he probably won't have any interest in walking until Hayven is running laps around him. Then, he'll do it just to show-up his girl cousin ;-)